I am curious and would be grateful for you indulging my curiosity.
Choose one of the four statements below that best represents yourself, life, and the Universe. In your comment at the bottom explain why you chose it, and then please explain why not the other three statements as your choice.
I am a cog in a Clock.
I am a Clock among Clocks.
I am my clock Winder & Minder.
I am the Time Guardian.
Brain activity on an EEG monitor before physiological & muscular action.
Live Well – Love Much – Laugh Often – Listen Close – Learn Always
For a few months now my blogging time has been at the mercy of situations at home, as many of you know. Some of you are probably grateful. Some of you may be ecstatic. Still others are perhaps undecided, contemplating if the world is a better place without my regular ranting, raving, and splendidness. And there are two or three I know are being driven mad without their weekly dose, their fix of my penmanship and sheer foolishness. 😉 I know, I know. But there’s only so much of me to go around! And a few have my best parts, others have the not-so-good parts (always yelling at me are those), and several have curiously returned other parts of me as defective, dysfunctional, or in need of some sort of overhaul major repair—your refund check is in the mail… if I had your address. If I didn’t and you want your refund, call 1-900-932-4668, or with the letters on your dial pad: 1-900-YEA-H-NOT 😁
Seriously, don’t call that number. I have no idea if it’s a working number.
What tha hell have you been doing? GET BLOGGING Professor!
To briefly let you all know what I’m working on, here’s a rundown of a few, oldest to newest drafts:
Cheating Death —
Aubry, Pat, and Terry —
Kinshasa-Leopoldville —
He’s A Cannibal! —
Black Underworld Inc. – Appendix —
Transparency: A Double-Edged Razor —
Marx and Nietzsche Today —
Heterosexual Humble Pie —
Christian Apologetics: Land of Oz – Pt I —
A Bright Future for Our USMNT —
Social Compassion, Plus —
A Newer Constitution —
It’s a bit of a laugh isn’t it, this list? This is only 12 of 37 drafts I have awaiting completion. Yeah, now you can laugh and joke. I deserve it. For more chuckling, ask me when I will finish these and the other 25 drafts. HEY! I am not a terrible procrastinator. Life has lots of curveballs, some of them miss you by millimeters, others hit you smack in the sack-ticles!
Besides, most all of my last seven therapists have all told me, A procrastinator? Nah, you are like fine wine with time. Just don’t lose the homing-device for my whereabouts, bring a jolly attitude and more Malbec, preferably from the Mendoza Valley, Argentina. That is my medicine, my go-go juice 🍷 …or a smooth tequila. 🙃
Live Well – Love Much – Laugh Often – Listen More – Learn Always
While I have a couple of hours respite and sister spends the day and afternoon with Mom, I thought I’d quickly throw together—ladies and gentlemen, I do mean in reckless haste—many of our best images with a sampling of cell-phone videos I managed during our Family Getaway this past June to Mackinac Island, Michigan. A teaser, if you will.
As you read on, please play this musical accompaniment to better set-the-ambiance of this magnificent island stuck in a most charming bygone time…
Why did I wait six-months to share these pictures and videos? It wasn’t intentional, I assure you. There are some days and nights on Mackinac which in my amateur production expertise (which is none) deserve a brief backstory and context. Along with my perfectionistic cinematic ideas, I have wanted to make this feature presentation as delightful, humorous, eye-popping, and as memorable, for Mom especially, as was possible and even accompanied by Victorian-Edwardian time-period music in the background. It deserves in my mind nothing less. Furthermore, since my high school days I have dreamt onto my Bucket List a trip to the Grand Hotel ever since one of my favorite 1980 romantic films, Somewhere In Time was released. I am and always have been a huge sucker for time-travel stories!
Obviously, six-months later this dramatic award-winning aspiration has proven more problematic for me than I first thought. I imagined I’d have significantly more free-time upon our return to create this Oscar- and Emmy-nominated short motion picture. It hasn’t happened. Grrrrrr, Murphy’s Law-firm: 6, Dwain: fat donut-hole. 😒
Without further ado, here is a quick Teaser of what I hope will arrive here sooner rather than much later…
Day 1 — on the grand veranda at The Grand Hotel after finally checking-in about 3:00am in the morning due to my brain-fart at the Detroit Metropolitan International Airport. More on that in the final production.
Day 3a — exploring the island after relocating to our second accommodations at Harbor View Inn. Our two nights at the Grand Hotel when all said and done ran a measly $1,799.82. Harbor View Inn was a welcomed relief on the pocket-book, hah!
Day 3b — horse-carriage ride into town to Main Street to grab a visitors map, then Astor St. for lunch at the Yankee Rebel Tavern. I had a remarkably good Summer Orchard Salad with Bell’s Amber Ale on draft, a combination I couldn’t get enough of over our stay, followed by a walk on Market St.’s shops and parlors.
Click on image for expansive 2-page map
More themed music for your reading, listening enjoyment…
Day 5 — the family splits up! What? Say it isn’t so Nellie! I want to visit the military fort and museum, Fort Mackinac, and for some unfathomable reason, the ladies had no desire whatsoever to steeply climb the walkway up to the harbor-side gate, watch a celebratory 6-pounder cannon fire over the town, and witness a 19th-century soldier reenactment firing his M1873 .45-70 Springfield rifle. Seriously? What could possibly be more fun than hearing a barrage of Springfield rifles firing in unison? Here is what they did, pffft…
Here’s what I did, furthering my vast historical, military, and cultural knowledge of northern Michigan and the old U.S. frontier:
Please excuse my labored breathing in these two videos
I promised a few of you birding, butterfly, and insect enthusiasts a video of Mackinac Island’s Butterfly House & Insect World and I am delivering! Now, granted I am not a professional videographer, not even with my own Motorola moto e5 Go. In fact, I was sternly criticized by a dear female friend for two production-and-editing screwups: 1) what’s my malfunction with recording horses-asses all the time, and 2) “hold the damn phone sideways Steven Spielberg wannabe!” Case and point:
I will have to stop here. I know, I know… many of you are crushed by this. My sincere apologies, but I have run out of free-time. Sister has returned with Mom and she must dart off to her mandatory house-meeting before the Xmas weekend and holidays officially start tomorrow. Until next time when I finagle a bit of solo time, I will endeavor to work hard on the entire final, award-winning feature with full Victorian-Edwardian music accompaniment. It should be something Mom will cherish—at least that’s my hope.
Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always
Today me and my family have much to be grateful for in spite of so many recent events in our lives and country. Hence, on this day we enjoy the company of loved ones, laughing together, remembering all the good shared, missing those who in leaving this life took a part of our hearts with them. Together in gratitude we listen to music (two songs) befitting our mood and fortunes.
And…
Happy Thanksgiving to you all with warmest wishes from the Miller-Strange family.
Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always
Are you familiar with the Drake Equation? Do you know what it “equates”?
If you don’t know, here is a brief explanation by Space.com:
The Drake Equation is used to estimate the number of communicating civilizations in our galaxy, or more simply put, the odds of finding intelligent life in the Milky Way.
Note that the definition states only or strictly inside the Milky Way, our very own galaxy. And how many more galaxies are out there? According to the Hubble Space telescope scientists and mathematicians and their subsequent estimations, roughly 200-billion just within the OBSERVABLE Universe.
Basically, as there is indeed more than dust we see with our naked eye and beyond that more than just molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, neutrons, and probably more than even Quarks, there is just as likely “Still Something More” out there in interstellar space. It certainly stands to reason.
It is because of these above concepts and verifiable principles/proofs that today I can give you song; song that speaks VOLUMES without my words, but with musical notes and lyrics… which speak, which pronounce that truly there is and excitingly always will be…
“Something More!”
There is always something more. If one cares to discover more, to stop, listen, observe, examine, absorb, and TRULY understand all, all the nuts and bolts. By doing so then there will be… more! A lot more!
Yet, this begs our rat-race society a question, or more… How much time/effort do we commit to, set aside to actually DO those six things I listed? Are you hasty, have no time, too shallow to stop and observe? Or do you really slow down, apply those six attributes in your life with other people? This begs another question, Do you spend irreplaceable time WITH other humans doing those six things or spend irreplaceable time doing NON-human activities?
I ask you genuinely, honestly, truthfully to think about it! Pay close attention to the following lyrics as you listen to the apropos tune. Then, if you like, share your thoughts below.
Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always
I have zero expectation that anything I ever say will end someone’s belief in their God. Not my goal or purpose. That alone belongs to the individual. ~ Zoe
'Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it' - Terry Pratchett
The Professor's Convatorium 